“Hey, sleepy head! You missed out on a good time!” Lily yelled across the kitchen. She had a huge grin spread across her face.
“So I’ve heard.” I smiled at Adrian.
“Come outside with me. That’s where the food is.” Lily hooked her arm around mine. “You don’t mind if I steal her for a sec, do you?” she asked Adrian.
“She’s all yours,” he said and walked over to Zack and Corey.
“Great.” When we got outside, we each filled up a plate with food and walked over to the campfire area. We sat down on one of the log benches. Everyone else was sitting on the deck and in the kitchen, so it was just the two of us.
“I had so much fun today, Ava. I seriously haven’t had that much fun since…well, I guess since Steven and I started dating.” She took a bite of her hamburger. “You know, that feeling of meeting new people and just being able to flirt and just have fun. I’ve missed it.”
“So I take it those two guys in the kitchen with you were Zack and Corey?” I took a bite of my burger.
“Yeah, they are both super sweet and they’re Adrian’s age, so they’re way more mature than a lot of the guys I’ve been around.”
“I’m glad you’re having fun.” I smiled at her. “Hey, I have a question for you.”
“Yeah?” She finished what was left of her burger.
“Since you and Steven broke up, I was wondering if you’d want to get a place together, just the two of us.”
“Do you really even have to ask? Of course! Could this day get any better? I’ve been totally freaking out since Steven and I broke up because I was afraid I’d end up spending another year at my parents’ house and I don’t want to stay there any longer than I have to.” She set her empty plate down next to her on the bench. “So I guess you really aren’t going to Florida, then?”
“I’ve told you over and over again that I’m not.” I stood up and started toward the deck to throw my plate away. Lily followed.
“Yeah, but I guess I just thought you’d crack at the last minute and go.”
“I really wish I could…” I tossed my empty plate into the trash bag tied to the deck railing.
“But you can’t, yeah I know.”
When the sun began to disappear behind the mountain, the guys started a fire. This was where we spent the next few hours. The guys reminisced about high school, college, playing sports, and anything else they could think of. I was really happy Adrian had such an amazing group of friends. Guys weren’t ones for being emotional, but I could tell they were all upset he was leaving. When everyone slowly trickled inside, I helped Lily clean up around the fire and kitchen before we went to bed. Adrian disappeared for a little while but came back to walk with me up to the bedroom.
“I have a little surprise for you. Close your eyes,” he said when we got to the bedroom door.
“Okay.” I closed my eyes and let him lead me inside. He swept me up off my feet and carried me so I lost my sense of direction. When I felt my feet touch the ground again, he told me to open my eyes.
“Wow,” was all I could manage to say. The Jacuzzi tub was filled and overflowing with bubbles. The room was lit by tea light candles. Not that we needed them, the full moon and its reflection off the water alone was enough to light up the whole room.
“Do you like it?” he whispered in my ear.
“No.” I turned to face him. “I love it! No one has ever done anything like this for me before.” A lump formed in my throat. I really couldn’t believe he would do all this for me, for us, for our last night together.
“I thought you might like it.” I stood on my tippy-toes and kissed him on the lips. It wasn’t as soft as some of the others we’ve shared. This one was filled with passion. I pulled back just long enough to pull my shirt over my head. As we kissed, I felt him reach around to unsnap my bra. He pulled the straps off my shoulders and I dropped my arms from his neck so it could fall to the floor. He watched me remove the rest of my clothing and step into the tub. I motioned for him to join me and he pulled off his board shorts in a matter of seconds and stepped into the tub.
Adrian sat down. As I lowered myself to join him, he grabbed my hips and pulled me down onto him. He kissed my neck and down my collarbone, then made his way to my breasts. It wasn’t our first time together but it was the closest I’d ever felt to another human being. It felt as if we’d become bonded in some way.
When we finally made it out of the tub and into the bed, I was exhausted, but I felt like nothing could bring me down. I turned over and Adrian was already sound asleep next to me. I wanted to take in this moment as long as I could.
Chapter 30
The next morning came too soon. I knew the moment I woke up I was going to be an emotional wreck. I always knew that when the time came it was going to be hard, but after the night we spent together, it was ten times harder.
“Good morning, babe.” Adrian came walking in the door, coffee in hand.
“Morning.” I sat up and grabbed a cup from him.
“You want to sit outside and enjoy the view a little longer before we have to go?”
“Yes, please.” We went out to the deck and Adrian sat in one of the two wooden chairs. I decided to sit on his lap. We sat in silence for what seemed like forever. “So, are you ready for tonight?” I finally asked.
“Ready as I can be, I guess.” He took a sip of his coffee. “We would’ve been gone a long time ago if I could’ve convinced you to come with me.”
“I know.” I looked down at my cup. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. That’s what I like about you. You know what you want and you stick with it until you feel like you’re ready and the timing’s right for you. As much as I want you to go, I’d rather you stay here until you’re ready than rush into something and risk ruining what we have.” He placed his hand on my lower back.
“It would take a lot to ruin what we have.” I looked out over the lake.
“You’re right. It would. I just want you to be comfortable with whatever decision you make.”
“And that’s why I love you. You’re one of the most unselfish people I’ve ever met. Most guys would tell me that it’s their way or no way.”
“Well, those guys would be crazy to put a relationship with you on the line. Besides, I know what it’s like to be forced into something you’re not ready to do. My dad always pushed me to work with him. So finally, one day I said I would, and learned very quickly it was not something I enjoyed doing. It probably could’ve been different if he hadn’t put so much pressure on me in the first place. But I did it for him, not me.” I heard a knock on the bedroom door. “Come in!” Adrian yelled.
“Hey.” It was Lily. She walked into the bedroom. “Are you guys going to be ready to go soon?” She stopped when she stepped outside the sliding glass doors. “Holy cow! Why didn’t you tell me you had this freaking awesome view?” She walked over to the rail of the deck and looked out across the lake.
“I would’ve, but I’ve hardly even seen you since you’ve been running around with Zack and Corey the whole time we’ve been here,” I joked.
“Shut up!” She blushed. I didn’t think I’d ever actually seen Lily blush before. She repeated her earlier question.
“Yeah, we should probably go. I’m going to take our stuff down to the truck and say bye to the guys. I’ll meet you downstairs.” He grabbed our coffee cups and went out the bedroom door.
“How are you doing?” Lily sat down on the wooden chair next to mine.
“I’m doing all right,” I lied.
“If you need anything, let me know, okay?”
“I will. Were you thinking of staying over at my house tonight? Maybe we can go look at houses in the morning.” I was trying to think of ways to get my mind off Adrian leaving.
“I can. I just thought you might want to spend sometime alone tonight.”
“No. That’s the last thing I need.”
“Okay, how about a girls night? Pizza, m
ovies, popcorn?”
“Sounds amazing.” I forced a smile.
The drive home didn’t seem long enough this time. Whenever I wanted time to move slowly, it seemed like everything went in fast forward. We dropped Lily off at her house and drove to our place. The drive was quiet. I thought about breaking the silence several times but I was afraid if I even tried to speak, I would fall apart. I was pretty sure the lump in my throat had become permanent.
When we got home, Adrian went into his parents’ house to say goodbye and I decided to head up to the apartment. When I walked in the door and looked around, I noticed that not much had changed. He was only taking clothes with him, so the only thing that was empty was the dresser and his bathroom drawer. I could think of it like he was at work, except we wouldn’t be spending nights and weekends together. Who was I kidding? There was no way around this; it wasn’t going to be easy.
When the time came to go to the airport, I called Lily to come pick us up. She and I both decided it’d probably be best for her to drive since I’d be in no shape to drive after he left. She was there in a few short minutes and we were on our way. How was I going to do this? I really didn’t think I could. We should’ve just said our goodbyes at the house. I’d never cared for airports.
Adrian placed his hand on my leg. He sat next to me in the backseat. I knew he was just trying to comfort me, but it made me sick knowing I wouldn’t be able to be this close to him for the next few months. I tried to make the best of our last few moments together, so I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes to help hold the tears back.
“Ava, I’m just going to drop you guys off and circle around. Call me when you’re ready to be picked up.” Lily pulled into the drop off section of the airport.
“Sounds good.” My voice crackled. Adrian and I got out of the car and he grabbed his suitcase from the trunk. I followed him in and waited to the side while he found a kiosk and checked in.
“Well, I guess I better get to my gate.” I nodded and he pulled me in to his chest. I couldn’t hold it back any longer. I fell apart. “Please don’t cry. Just think how fast the summer went by. Winter will be here before you know it. Especially with school and Lily keeping you busy.”
“I can’t do this. I don’t know how I’m going to do this.” I managed to get out between sobs.
“Yes, you can. And you’re going to do this because we’ll Skype every day and you can call or text whenever you want. You also have a great friend to stay with you. I’m sure you’ve gotten through a lot harder things than this.” He was probably right. But at the moment, I couldn’t think of anything I’d been through worse than this.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too, Ava. We’ll get through this. I know it.”
“You’re right.” I wiped the tears from my face. “You better get to your gate.” He pulled my face towards his and kissed me slowly on the lips. I tried to take in every last detail I could before he let go.
“Well, well, well. Look who it is!” I heard a girl’s voice from behind me. It sounded familiar but I couldn’t quite remember why. When I turned around, it was Sam. “Funny seeing you here.” She smiled at Adrian, acting as if I wasn’t standing right next to him. “Oh wait…you took that job in Florida, didn’t you?”
“Yeah I did,” Adrian answered.
“Are you on the two thirty five flight outta here?” she asked, still ignoring me.
“Yeah.” Adrian looked at me.
“What a small world. So am I!” My stomach dropped. I had been hoping and praying we’d never have to run into Sam again and now here she was. And she was going to be on the same flight to Florida as Adrian…great! “We should probably get through security. Our plane leaves in a little bit.” Sam smiled slyly while trying to appear helpful.
“I’m going to spend a few more minutes with Ava.” Sam looked at me.
“Well, nice seeing you again, Ava.” She gave me one of her fake smiles. I knew she was just trying to get me. “I’ll see you in there.” She rubbed Adrian’s arm as she walked past us to the security line. It took everything in me not to reach over and rip her arm off when she touched him.
“Just when I thought this day couldn’t get any worse.” I glared at Sam as she was walking through the line.
“Ava. You don’t have anything to worry about. She’s just trying to get under your skin.”
“Yeah. Well, it’s working.” He pulled me in and hugged me. I tried to calm myself down and just enjoy this last hug but I couldn’t get the image of Sam and him together out of my head.
“I love you, Ava. You and no one else. Sam and I are done. I promise.” I nodded but didn’t say anything. “I need to get through security.” I pulled back and kissed him on the lips. “I love you. I’ll be back before you know it.” He turned away and started slowly toward security.
“I love you, too. I’ll be waiting.” He looked over his shoulder and smiled. Just then Sam ran over to him and started chatting him up right away. She had obviously been waiting for him so they would have to stand in line together. Before I even had time to react, my phone buzzed. It was Lily.
Is everything ok?
I looked up just in time to see Sam give me a sideways glance. She was obviously trying to see if I was still watching.
I answered.
I hope so.
About the Author
Jessica Gunhammer recently married her high school sweetheart and they’re lucky to call Hawaii home. She graduated college in May 2012 with a degree in fashion design and quickly realized it was not the right fit for her. So, after spending several years in a fast paced fashion industry, She started looking for something new to keep her busy.
Reading has always been a passion of hers. However, she put this passion on the back burner, since she had no time to read during college. Soon after, Jessica and her mom started a publishing company. It was while working in the publishing industry that she rediscovered her love for writing. She’d always known she wanted to write, but never considered making a career out of it. After some feedback and support from her amazing family she decided to pursue her dreams of becoming an author.
When Jessica has time between reading, writing and running a business, you can find her enjoying all Hawaii has to offer. She likes to spend her time with her husband, family and dog Asia. On the weekends you can find them teeing off at the nearest golf course, playing volleyball on the beach or visiting the local farmer’s market.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jessica.gunhammer
Twitter: www.twitter.com/JessGunhammer
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/JessicaGunhammer
Website: www.jessicagunhammer.com
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